MARTA ridership rose slightly during the first week that federal workers were required back in offices across metro Atlanta.
About 20,000 more train trips were reported last week compared to the same week a year prior, according to MARTA ridership data. The number of trips taken topped every other week in February this year and last.
Roughly 60,000 federal civilian employees are based in metro Atlanta, creating the potential for many more commuters as a result of President Donald Trump’s return-to-office push. The first wave of returns started Feb. 24, with more expected in the coming months.
MARTA, which is still trying to regain ridership that dropped when the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in widespread work-from-home practices, has encouraged federal employees to take transit. General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood told workers last week to “let MARTA do the driving.”
“It can be difficult to get back into the habit of going into the office five days a week — it’s been an adjustment for many of us,” Greenwood said. “So, let MARTA drive and you can listen to music or scroll on your phone during your commute and not have the added stress of traffic and parking.”
A total of 406,649 trips were recorded on MARTA trains between Feb. 24 and Feb. 28. That’s up about 5% from the same week in 2024, when 386,900 were reported.
An average of 382,804 trips were taken in February during the work week.
MARTA officials cautioned against attributing the increase solely to federal workers.
“We believe this increase to be due to a number of factors,” including Hawks basketball games and the warmer weather, said spokesperson Stephany Fisher.
Three large federal buildings — the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, the Richard B. Russell Federal Building and the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Building — sit within a short walk of MARTA’s Five Points station.
Downtown business owners have expressed optimism about the return-to-office order, and it could also benefit MARTA’s bottom line. The transit agency lost riders in 2024 compared to 2023, with ridership dropping below half its prepandemic numbers.
MARTA officials believe the drop doesn’t reflect actual ridership, which they say has been artificially lowered for over a year by broken fare gates that don’t count Breeze card taps or allow entry without tapping at all.
One large federal employment center has no direct access to rail: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Clifton Road headquarters.
At the CDC campus, there won’t be enough parking spaces for all the employees who are required back. Traffic along the crowded Clifton Corridor that runs from Buckhead to Decatur is expected to worsen when most of the agency’s workers return later this month.
MARTA is considering rapid buses for the area, which is currently served by two regular bus routes. A few commuter shuttles are also an option for employees who can’t or don’t want to drive.
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